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30 Mar 2008

Cherries a Super Fruit

Cherries, both the sweet (Prunus avium) and sour (Prunus cerasus) varieties, are available fresh, frozen, dried and juiced. They are one of the "Super Fruits" due to their excellent nutrition value and high levels of antioxidents.

Commercially sweet cherries are generally used for eating fresh, frozen or juiced, and sour cherries canned, bottled, dried, juiced and made into jam. Cherries are also used in the liquor industry to be distilled into kirsch, ratafia and maraschino.

Sour cherries are higher in nutrients than sweet cherries but as they are rarely eaten raw they often lose some of that nutrition in processing. The tart flavor of the sour cherries is due to their higher levels of malic acid than sweet cherries.

Cherries contain excellent levels of vitamin C and A (beta carotene), a good level of folate and dietary fiber and small amounts of vitamin B1, B2, B3, and B6. They also contain calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and zinc. Cherries are very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Sweet cherries are only 84 calories and sour cherries 52 calories per cupful so are an ideal snack.

Health wise cherries contain over 17 antioxidants and are therefore disease fighting and also build up the immune system. They contain the flavonoid quercetin which can help to prevent heart disease and they contain anthocyanins which block inflammatory enzymes, reducing pain. Twenty cherries are said to be ten times as potent as aspirin and have positive effects on gout and arthritis pain.

So regularly add cherries to your grocery list and get their antioxidants fighting off all those free radicals in our polluted air.

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Raw Black Forest Cherry BrowniesFrom Raw SacramentoVisit this site for some fabulous recipes.

Puree 4 cups walnuts in a food processor until it becomes a fine meal. Add dates and continue to puree until well mixed. Add carob and cherry extract and puree again. Mix in the chopped nuts and cherries by hand. Press into a 9" square brownie pan. Refrigerate and slice. Serve with fresh sliced strawberries or raspberries or use frozen berries. Will last for weeks in your refrigerator or freezer.

Prepare couscous: In a quart saucepan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion and saute for about 3 minutes or until softened. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add couscous, stir, cover and remove from heat. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl to cool.Prepare dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together cherry juice concentrate, lemon juice and mustard. Whisk in oil until emulsified. Set aside.Assemble: Add dressing and remaining ingredients to couscous and mix well. Serve immediately. 8 servings

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Cherries are a wonderful fruit. My mother is allergic to all fruit and my father isn't a fan of berries, but when they discovered the pain relieving/health benefits from cherries they couldn't stop eating them. Mom would feel like she was mildly intoxicated, but she endured.